Linear Instability and Saturation Characteristics of Magnetosonic Waves along the Magnetic Field Line

Equatorial noise, also known magnetosonic waves (MSWs), are one of the frequently observed plasma waves in Earth’s inner magnetosphere. Observations have shown that wave amplitudes maximize at the magnetic equator with a narrow extent in their latitudinal distribution. It has been understood that waves are generated from an equatorial source region and confined within a few degrees magnetic latitude. The present study investigates whether the MSW instability and saturation amplitudes maximize at the equator, given an energetic proton ring-like distribution derived from an observed wave event, and using linear instability analysis and particle-in-cell simulations with the plasma conditions at different latitudes along the dipole magnetic field line. The results show that waves initially grow fastest (i.e., with the largest growth rate) at high latitude (20°–25°), but consistent with observations, their saturation amplitudes maximize within ±10° latitude. On the other hand, the slope of the saturation amplitudes versus latitude revealed in the present study is not as steep as what the previous statistical observation results suggest. This may be indicative of some other factors not considered in the present analyses at play, such as background magnetic field and plasma inhomogeneities and the propagation effect.